


FF Shifters - Shorts and One-Shots

by TigerNightCat



Series: Final Fantasy Shifters AU [4]
Category: Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Fluff, Gen, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Imprisonment, Master/Pet, Master/Slave, Master/Slave - Non-BDSM, Mental health is as important as physical health, No ships (yet), Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Platonic Relationships, lots of fluff, mentions of abuse, no beta we die like men, shifters as pets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2019-12-30 21:32:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18322388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TigerNightCat/pseuds/TigerNightCat
Summary: A Collection of Shorts and One-shots centered around the Shifter AU.Sometimes questions are asked or situations find themselves the center of attention.These are those answers and situations.A little bit of everything. Lots of fluff for the most part.





	1. A Happy Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lilliana was asked if she has had any good memories on her time on the farm. She found one without really trying.

“In all the bad, was there any good?”

*****

“Where is that cat?” He grumbled staring at his newest acquisition.

“You called, Sir?” She appeared behind him, stepping out from a shadow. She bowed respectfully, eyes to the floor, head down and hands clasped in front of her.

“Huh. There you are.” He motioned towards the bundle in the cage. “You're newest project. You have one week.” With that he walked out of the room without more of an explanation or a backwards glance.

She stayed bowed until she was sure he was completely gone and wasn't walking back to the cage for some reason. A short high pitched whistle from the other side of the main tent signaled that the human had indeed walked completely out of the area. She sighed deeply and then straightened, taking a look at her newest project, as the foreman called it.

She knew it would be bad, but not quite this way. The poor boy was trussed up like a cocatrice dinner. He couldn't have been more than fifteen at the oldest. His hands and feet were tied together and his hands attached to the wall behind him by a lead rope. The rope wasn't long enough for him to put them in his lap so they were held up at an awkward angle. He was staring, glaring actually, from behind a half face cage muzzle. It looked tight, cutting into his skin just a bit to keep his jaw closed His clothes looked dirty and ripped in places. Bruises hinted here and there, some old, some new.

“What did you do?” She whispered more to herself than anything. She raised an eyebrow at the low growl coming from the bound boy. “I’m the last person you should be doing that to dear. Let’s get you talking.”

She knelt down in front of the boy and reached out to try and ease the muzzle off him. The boy flinched back away from her hands and thumped against the wall. She frowned, lowering her hands “They did a number on you didn’t they?”

“Hey Alpha, leave him alone. He’s just some punk kid they brought in from another farm.” A shifter, Marcus, called from the cage opposite the one she was in currently.

“You know I won’t do that so don’t waste your breath. You were in just as bad shape when you got here so no throwing stones. Now let’s get this off you.” She sighed when he pulled away again. “Alright. You tell me when you want this off and I’ll do it. Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.” She turned and sat down next to him, leaning against the wall.

She could wait him out. She had nothing else to do that she knew of. All her other ‘projects’ were comfortably situated in their new homes and awaiting the next day for the humans to come through and take a look at them. No children needed caring for and no adults needed help. It was actually a quiet day for once and she took full advantage of it, lightly dozing next to the boy as she waited for him to come to her.

It must’ve been free time because a few children ran up to her begging for her to play with them or tell them a story. She pushed them all away gently telling them she had to take care of the new kid. The children stared at the boy for a few moments then ran out of the room. It’s nothing they probably hadn’t seen before. It’s not like this was a five star hotel or anything. Since she had taken over the care of all the foreman's inventory, the children had been much happier and the adults less stressed overall. They all knew how to act when normies were around, but when they weren’t, the shifters were themselves. It was very encouraging to see them be almost carefree.

The boy made a questioning noise and she turned to look at him. “Finally ready for that to come off?” He nodded slowly and she reached over to gently pull it off his face. “There we go. Much better. Now you gonna tell me what got you trussed up?” A curt and rusty No was all the answer she received. “Alright. Keep your secrets for now. I have a week to get you up to snuff anyway. I'll figure it out without you telling me.”

“What did he mean by that anyway? Why are there kids running around and smiling? This is a farm isn't it?” His voice was gruff and raspy from disuse behind the mask.

 _Thanks kids. You made my job easier without even trying._ “Yes. It's the Clair Ranch. It is a farm, but slightly different. The foreman runs the place but a shifter helps with the inventory. They help with keeping everyone up to snuff with protocols and help find the best match for the normies. No returns ever, that's the hope at least. Best farm to be a shifter in honestly from what other transfers say. You want out of those cuffs?”

“You're lying. No shifter is happy in a farm. And how? You don't have.. the…. keys…” He trailed off as he noticed her twirling a ring of keys around one finger idly.

“Never said we all enjoyed it. Just that it's the best place overall. No one wants to be here, least of all me. I just made it work.” She reached out for his cuffs and had to pull back abruptly as sharp teeth came forward and tried to bite her hands. “Ah. You're a biter. That's why you're tied up.”

“You're one of those g****** pets. You're working for them!”

She snorted at that statement. “Hardly. I want out of here more than anyone. Those normies can go jump in a lake for all I care. And don't curse. There are children around. I don't want them learning bad habits.”

“I'll do whatever I want, you traitor.” She raised an eyebrow at that statement. She'd been called a lot over the years, traitor wasn't one of them. Or at least as far as she could remember.

“Is he insulting you Alpha? Let me out and I'll make sure he behaves.” Marcus called out again from the other cage. He had been watching intently and didn't like his alpha being insulted like the kid was doing now. Honestly he could leave that cage at any time, she hadn’t locked him in for a while now. Good behavior. “He should learn some respect for his betters.”

“No Marcus. It's fine. He's just being vocal about his impression of me. I get it. And stop calling me Alpha, I'm not one.” Marcus just rolled his eyes at her denial.

“What would you know, you stupid pet.” The boy grumbled beside her.

“More than you might know kid. I know you're about 15 years old. Predator, Canine. A natural born shifter, Alpha or strong Beta if I didn't miss the mark. You're a smart kid and totally sane from what I've seen so you're faking the biting habit to get in trouble or thrown out. You've never seen the adults or teens disappear in your old farm so you assumed when they misbehaved they get tossed out or transferred. Am I close?” At his wide eyed look she continued. “What you don't realize is they were put down, not released. It's not like animal adoptions. There is no third chances here. Lucky you, I'm your second chance.”

“We have three options we can take now. Two of which I really don't want to do and the third relies a ton on you. One,” she holds up one finger so he can see. “We do nothing and you are taken and put down. My least favorite option. Two,” another finger. “I hand you over to Marcus over there and he makes you submit. His favorite option but not mine. And finally the hardest option but the most likely to keep you alive after stupidly biting someone.”

She looked him straight in the eyes and held up a third finger. “We fake it.”

She had to bite back a laugh at his completely confused look. “You pretend to follow directions and get better. That will give me more time to figure you out and maybe bring you around. Your choice if you actually want to do that or not though. No one will force you to live.”

Moving again she unlocked his cuffs freeing them from the wall. He rubbed circulation back into his arms while she released his ankles. “Oh and before you think of trying to grab the keys from me. See those bent bars over there?” He looked over and slowly nodded staring at the bars. “I made Marcus do that accidentally the first day I met him by throwing him into the bars. I had four strength modifiers on at the time. You see how many I'm wearing now? Do the math.” he looked back at her taking in the fact that she only had her collar on and no cuffs on her arms or wrists. His face drained of color just the tiniest bit at the implication that she could easily take him out.

She helped him stand up and had to look up to keep his gaze. “Why are you always so dang tall?”

“Maybe you're just short” the boy spoke without thinking and put a hand over his mouth when he realized he said it.

She glared at him and poke him. “Smarty pants. What's your name anyway? Cant keep calling you kid. You'll get more annoying than you already are.”

“Seifer”

“Nice to meet you Seifer. Let me show you around.”

The days passed without incident the boy played along perfectly. The foreman was pleased by the progress and was ready to put him back into the active inventory. Lilly somehow convinced him to wait another week for the injuries to heal. Shifters healed quickly but not that quickly. The boy had been beaten pretty hard before he got there, probably fighting to not be tied. Bruises kept rising to the surface on his skin. The foreman agreed but only up to a point. If he was a match for any of the visiting clients, he'd go right away. She understood and agreed outwardly, despite screaming no on the inside. She never liked matching normies to her shifters but that was the only way to keep them safe.

She almost got her extra week for the boy. Unfortunately there was one set of normies that walked in that were looking for a pet to show off and to be a sparring partner for their son. Their perfect match, in her opinion, was Seifer. He was a quick wit, and even faster fists. If he could control his hatred for humans then he would be perfect for them. She wasn't sure if he had gotten past that yet or not though. He was quiet and didn't give her much insight into his mind.

He surprised her though. After he met with the humans he was brought back into the holding building to wait for all the paperwork to be finished. He apparently was a perfect gentleman to the humans and impressed them in his training and physical abilities.

“Hey momma kitty. It's going to be ok. I'll just make sure to not hurt their kid when we spar. They don't seem like a bad bunch. Not freedom by any means but not like the other foreman and handlers at my old farm.”

“You sure. I can probably find a way to make the deal fall through. I've done it before when it wasn't a perfect match after the interviews.” she wasn't worried. Not at all. Why would she be worried about a hot headed kid going to an unknown human family. No, not her.

A strong hug stopped her train of thought. He hadn't ever done that yet to her and she momentarily blanked. “I'm sure. I'll be ok. You take care of your charges. I'll make you proud.” She hadn't done anything special except treat him like he was human. Gave him his dignity back and didn't treat him like a child. That meant more to the teenager than anything else and he wasn't going to waste it by doing stupid stunts again. It's what she did with every shifter on the farm. She didn't judge any of them by their pasts. Just tried to make their futures the best she could with what little control she did have.

“You better. Never come back you hear me?”

“You can count on it.”

******

“A little dignity goes a long way. I didn't realize it at the time, but it helped save at least one life.”

“You did great. I'm proud of you even though I wasn't ever there. You're a strong protector. Let's pick up more later. Go rest.”


	2. Research Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes it's the small things that matter the most even if it seems like a big hurdle at the time.

“Umm…. What are you looking for, Master?” Justice asked quietly and hesitantly. They were in a library and had to be quiet. As for why he was hesitant? He’s always nervous around his Master. He’s a stickler for perfection and Justice never felt quite up to par with his standards.

He’s perfect in everything. His clothes were perfect, his work was perfect, and he’s always on time. It’s intimidating for a guy who is very much less than perfect. Why would his Master want any help from him? He probably wouldn’t, but he also says that he could ask anything at any time and was never given any reprimand for doing so.

Justice wanted to help, to be of use to his Master. It’s been months since he was first given to the Prince’s advisor as a gift for the Prince’s 21st birthday and he still hadn’t found exactly how to fit into his Master’s life yet. The man didn’t have any flaws for him to fit around. 

Ignis looked up briefly to his pet and then back down to the book he was holding in his hands. “I’m looking for a book of law on agriculture for Noct’s council meeting next week. There’s a few points he needs to know more about before he can advise on any changes they want to make.” He held up the book so Justice could read the cover. “I know there’s a few more editions in this part of the library that hold the information I need.”

“May I help look? Two sets of eyes see more than just one.” He sounded hopeful yet shy at the same time.

The advisor nodded, “Bring me anything you think might be useful and I’ll take a look at it.”

Ignis was honored with a sunshine smile gracing the shifter’s face and he turned away quickly, blushing slightly.  _ The man is just too cute _ .

Justice started perusing every book carefully, trying to find anything on agriculture for his Master to look at. He didn't see anything of use on the shelves that were within arms reach of him, but something higher up caught his eye. He looked over at his Master and then back up at the books.  _ He’s never said to not Change indoors, and I can’t see them very well from down here. _

He weighed his options and decided to just go for it. He Changed from a 6’7” tall human in to a 40 foot long half-human half-snake hybrid. A Lamia. He could now reach the top shelves 30 feet up without even trying.

Most Lamia are either very female or very male, but his form was close enough to both he looked like neither. He also only had two arms, where most of his kind had four or more. He had to learn to be very efficient with what he did have to survive in his nest.

All these things made him stand out among other Lamia shifters, but the most drastic was that of his size. He was the runt of the litter, so to speak. He was the smallest of all the Lamia he had ever met. They were usually double his size at a minimum, and he was pretty sure he was fully grown. His Master had tried looking up why he looked the way he did when he had time, but hadn’t found any reasons for it yet. He’s just strange, different, and useless in both forms.

His Master jumped slightly, but had a perfect poker face. If you didn’t know him, you wouldn’t know how startled he actually was. He looked over at Justice and smiled as the shifter looked over the shelves carefully.

The other humans in the area had already started moving away from the shifter as soon as they had noticed his Control Collar. They didn’t know what type he was, but if he had a collar that size, then he must be strong and that meant dangerous to normal humans. As soon as Justice Changed though, there were screams and people were scrambling to get away. Ignis had to chuckle at them. He knew Justice wouldn’t hurt a fly, but the other humans didn’t know that.

Justice looked down at his Master and in his strangely snake-like voice asks “I think I found the section you want Master. Did you want me to bring them down to you, or you up to them?”

Ignis hadn’t thought of going up to the books, but that would probably save time in the long run. “Up, if you would, please. Thank you for finding them. It would’ve taken hours to get to the point up there.”

Even as a Lamia, Justice’s smiles were bright. He moved his tail closer to his Master and offered out a hand for balance. “Get on my tail and I’ll boost you up. I can hold any that you find while you look.”

Ignis took the offered hand and carefully stepped on the thick tail. He was surprised at how firm it was. The scales were very soft and supple when touched with a bare hand.

Justice didn't let go of his Master’s hand and carefully brought his tail up to be eye-level with the shelves in question. He made sure the advisor was settled and balanced before letting go and waited patiently to hold anything. His Master looks at the selection Justice indicated and started to read carefully. “This is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you Justice.” Justice ducked his head slightly and Ignis could just make out a hint of a blush on the dusting of scales on the man’s face.

Ignis went back to looking and absently handed books to his helper as he slowly found what he needed. A 40 foot long snake hybrid means there was a lot of arm and hand space to hold things. Ignis didn't even have to get down to move, he would just indicate which direction he wanted to go and Justice would slide over a few feet to accommodate. 

That’s how Clarus found them an hour later. He had heard about the giant snake monster in the library and had been tasked with taking care of it if need be. He chuckled to himself, seeing Ignis use his pet as a platform and book holder. The pet was obviously following directions perfectly and not giving anyone a hard time. He took a few pictures for Regis and Cor on his phone and then slipped quietly out the door to go share them.


	3. Bathtime! Or Bust.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ptompto's been having a bad week, maybe Destiny can make it a little bit better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1y after meeting
> 
> Prompto - 21yo
> 
> Destiny - 29yo

It’s no question that Prompto loves Chocobos. He has chocobo sheets, chocobo posters, chocobo shirts, you name it, he probably had it. So for him to receive a Chocobo shifter as a gift for Noct’s 21st birthday? He couldn’t be any happier.

He loved his chocobo, Destiny. The problem was, his chocobo didn’t like him much.

He wasn’t sure why either. He always tried his best to treat her like she was human and not a pet. He had never agreed with the treatment that her kind received. He tried everything he could think of to bond with her. He talked with her, went places with her, and gave her as much freedom as he could get away with. She still didn’t like him though.

The one thing he did for himself each week was to take her into the stable yard and pamper her chocobo form. Since she wouldn’t let him take care of her human side, he would take care of the animal side.

He didn’t order her to do anything, he always asked. She tended to be in chocobo form when they were outside so he just had to ask her to follow him and sit down. She was an eleven and a half foot tall golden bird with an extra sharp spur on the back of her heels. She wasn’t going to do anything she didn’t want to, control collar (that he would never use) or not.

When she sat down she was still taller than him, but at least he could reach her back. He would take a bucket of soap and water and gently wash down each and every feather that he could reach, starting from the middle of her head and working his way down. He took special care with her wings and tail plumage. He wanted her to shine as brightly as the golden sun she was. He would carefully rinse and dry each feather after he was done and used a special brush made specifically for her larger feathers. He would brush her feathers until they glowed.

She would rarely look at him during these times. Her beak up in the air, only bringing it down when he asked. He would carefully brush the delicate feathers around her face and ears so they wouldn’t be damaged by accident. This was his calming ritual. When he had a bad week, he would look forward to pampering his girl and zone out at the repetitious nature of caring for her thousands of feathers.

About a year after she had been given to him, her Master had the worst week she had ever seen. He failed some tests for the crownsguard, though she’s pretty sure they cheated. He couldn’t remember the correct way to address people in his etiquette classes and he botched getting to almost everything on time. He was such a mess that even Cor started feeling bad for him.

He was so tired, frustrated, and sore that he didn’t even want to pamper her. She knew something was very wrong then. He never missed his weekly pampering attempt. He must’ve been sick when she had to carry him like a chick back to his room.

She knew she had to do something to help him. She may not have liked slavery much, but he was an ok Master. As the day wound down she double checked with Master Ignis about her Master’s schedule and found out that he would have the next day off.

That morning Prompto didn’t want to get out of bed. He refused to come out for his morning run, then he refused to come out of his bedroom for food at all. That’s when she decided to take matters into her own claws.

She pushed open all the doors as a human and barged into his bedroom. She glared at him once then Changed and picked him up in her beak. He was squawking and squealing and yelling to let him down, but she wasn’t going to have it. Her Master was never the depressed person. He hid pain well, yes, but he was never depressed like this and she wasn’t going to stand for it. She knew he needed the calming effect of washing her, so she was going to be washed dangnabit.

Some of the guards had to cover their mouths so they wouldn’t laugh when this giant bird with a chocobo haired kid in its beak walked through the halls, but they didn’t stop her. They knew Prompto and his pet on sight and thought he had probably done something to deserve the scruffed carry.

When she got him outside she set him down gently and pushed him over onto his butt. She wasn’t going to have him running away from her while she gathered his supplies. She put a bucket of water next to him and brought over all the brushes she had seen him use on her. She tilted her head at him and Kwehed. His pout skill was being used in full force.

He refused to move from his position so she rolled her eyes and dropped a brush on to his lap. She then practically sat on top of him to get him to actually pay attention to her. She kept shuffling closer whenever he tried to scooch away from her.

He started giggling each time she shuffled. She looked so funny and cute, almost twelve feet of bird scooching sideways by inches to bury him in fluff. By the time he finally gave up, he was laughing so hard he could barely breathe.

“Ok Ok I get it. I’ll brush you” He said and then started on the side he could reach. He couldn’t stay mad at her for trying to cheer him up. She was such a good girl.

She herself figured that getting pampered once a week against her will was much nicer than not getting pampered and her Master being depressed. She’d endure it for him.

She would never admit it out loud, but the only reason she seemed to not like her Master, wasn’t because she didn’t actually like him. She just didn’t know how to deal with this literal ball of sunshine and energy paying attention to her like she’s the center of his world. She loved the attention but didn’t know how to say thank you for it all. She didn’t know how to accept it all.

For now, the small step she took would be enough to change his mind just a bit. Maybe she did like him after all. She cared enough to make him happy again after a bad week. They could figure this out slowly, together. Now to get back to pampering his Chocochic.


	4. That's Weak?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarus gets asked a question during an investigation. He thinks it's a waste of time but it's a superior asking so he has to give a through report.

"When did you figure out her maximum strength was a 12 on the 10 point scale? Which doesn't seem possible, but you have yet to exaggerate in a report and Commander Leonis corroborates your findings to that point as well, so we will take this under advisement."

"It was the third week after she had been gifted to the Prince."

*****

The shifter female stood in front of him, head bowed and hands clasped. She hadn't moved since the Prince had left her alone with him. She was the smallest adult shifter he had ever seen. She stood well below his 6'6" frame and didn't look like a shifter at all. If she wasn't wearing a collar and hadn't seen her Change at the farm he wouldn't believe she was one at all.

She was a politely stubborn one too. "I'm sorry Sir. I can not do that." She had been refusing his order to attack him with her full strength. He needed to assess any threats near the King and Prince, regardless of their status, but she flat out refused to do so. He could see she was fighting against herself to not follow those orders though. She trembled slightly where she stood before him.

"Explain it to me again, why you are refusing a direct order?" He demanded of her.

She almost hid a flinch, but he saw it. "I do not wish to hurt you. You are important to His Majesty's protection and a human. I will not deprive His Majesty of his Shield if I can help it."

He raised one eyebrow at that. "You're that confident about this." It wasn't a question. "There is a way to show your strength without fighting me directly." He barked an order and a training dummy was brought before them.

He saw her glance up at the dummy and a small amount of tension left her body. "You will show me what you can do against this, for now, if you won't go against a human."

She bowed lower, "Yes Sir. Do you wish for straight up power?" At his grunt she looked up for the first time, assessing the dummy. "Do you have two sets of the strongest armor? It will be a better demonstration than just the dummy by itself. Also a set of leg binders if you have them. I request all the binders on me be set to full power, please."

He mentally shrugged. She wouldn't be able to hurt the mythril armor and if she hurt herself, then he would know the limit of her power. He had the armor brought in and equipped to the dummy. The men only found a set of ankle binders in their equipment rooms. They usually had no need for them, but did use them in takedown practice from time to time.   


She attached the binders without fuss, barely reacting as the power was turned on to full. She seemed to relax more as each moment passed and she moved around testing the fit and resistance of everything. The power was put up to full strength draw and he frowned as she acted like she barely noticed it.

"Anything else, or are you done stalling?" He asked sharply.

She glared at him before she could stop herself and then turned to the dummy before he could react to her show of anger.  _ Interesting _ . He watched in silence as she took a steadying breath, braced herself, and then hit the dummy as hard as she could, dead center in its chest.

Since the dummy wasn't bolted to the floor and was being hit by a shifter, he expected it to move a bit. He was not expecting it to fly halfway across the room. Then men the room startled enough some of them drew their weapons.

Cor, who was also observing todays testing, inspected the armor after it came to a stop and reported a large dent in it about the size of a fist.

The shifter hadn't moved from her position after hitting the dummy. Probably sensing the startled human's reactions. She watched as Cor inspected the dummy and nodded as if she expected the results when he reported to Clarus. She looked down at her fist and frowned at it as if she actually expected to be stronger than she was even with six binders on full draw.

"Impressive display. Something the matter?"

She looked over at him. "Thank you Sir. You said straight power so I'm not holding back." She looked back at the dummy and said almost to herself "Should've gone further though. Must be out of shape."

_ If that's "out of shape" she'll be frightening when she is. _ He barked an order and the second dummy was brought in and clothed in the second set of armor. 

"Sir?" His attention was brought back to the female shifter who was back to bowing towards him. "I request all these binders be removed for my next strike. If you do not permit it I will understand and rejoin my Master."

_ Remove the binders? She wants to do a full powered strike. _ He took a long look at her then nodded. She had her head bowed so she didn't see him. He moved closer and saw her stiffen at the sound of his boots. "Present arms" She held her arms out in front of him not straightening up. After removing all four arm binders from her he pushed her gently onto the ground and she extended one leg for him to remove the ankle binders. Safest way that humans were taught, and most shifters were as well, were for the shifter to tuck one leg under like they were going to sit cross legged, hold onto that ankle with both hands to keep them in sight and extend the opposite leg to be worked on. They were told to extend the second leg before drawing in the first one. It lowered the amount of leverage the shifter can have while within reach of a human. It had worked so far with the citadel shifters, so it shouldn't change anything with her. She did one better though and tucked the one foot under the extended leg, giving her an even more awkward stance.

He finished removing the ankle binders he stood up and backed away. "Up, Stance, Strike." He ordered her.

She slowly got up and flexed each limb that had the binders attached. She looked like she was moving easier, smoother, lighter. She bounced a few times getting the feel of no binders back. He watched her throw a few quick jabs, each one faster than the last. She seemed to realize that humans were still around her so she closed up her stance and bowed again to Clarus. "Thank you Sir." She turned and faced the dummy, making sure everyone was out of the flight path of the dummy. She took a deep centering herself then almost quicker than he could follow she struck.

The dummy flew back faster than he thought possible and crashed into the wall with a monstrous boom, dust and chips of wall exploding from the impact site. When the dust cleared the dummy was still in the wall, in a crater formed by only the reinforcements in the wall keeping it from making a true hole. The armor was still intact, though it looked fragile, with fine cracks throughout its entirety. As he watched the armor disintegrated before their eyes, flakes falling off the main chest piece until only the shoulder pads were left embedded in the wall.

Everyone stood stunned for a moment, then the men around her drew their weapons and converged on the shifter that was now obviously a threat. She wasn't standing anymore though. She had dropped down to her knees in a formal sitting position, palms up and head down. She didn't flinch at all when the men converged on her some putting their weapons close enough to touch.

"Incredible. And you're not augmented at all." Clarus made the men back up slightly so they could see the shifter. She ducked a slight bit lower in acknowledgement. 

"She's too dangerous to leave near the Royals. She shouldn't even be in the city." Cor commented to Clarus. He had drawn his own weapon and was moving her around a little bit with the tip. She didn't fight him just trembled slightly.

"She is. If I had known she was this powerful." Clarus trailed off turning as the Prince ran headlong into the center of the Kingsglaive. "Your Highness! You must stay back!"

"Why? She's my pet. I already knew about her strength. She showed me the first day. She won't hurt me" He tried to push past the Shield and the Commander but was held back by the larger men.

"She what? You didn't say anything Your Highness? Your safety is my responsibility." Clarus all but barked at him.

"No. I didn't, and it's not. Its Gladio's and he knew about it too. She accidentally used it against him." He finally slipped past them while they were stunned and sputtering with a phase warp. He ran to her side and knocked some of the weapons aside.

Clarus and Cor turned to watch the Prince. "You don't understand how upset she was when she did that. She won't hurt me," He said to Clarus while he fussed over her looking for any injuries and trying to get her to meet his eyes. She wouldn't. She finally nodded at one question and the Prince sighed quietly. He said "Present" and she raised her arms straight out, wrists up, waiting for him to put her binders back on.

She was either a very good actress or she was actually sincere and wouldn't hurt the boy. He sent one of the men off to go grab a full set of leg binders then addressed the Prince, "Your Highness, She will wear eight binders at full strength until I can determine if she is a threat or not. I won't take her from you but this will happen as compromise." The Prince glared up at him but nodded and turned back to his pet.

When the binders were brought the Prince put them on her without any fuss from the shifter. She again didn't flinch when they were turned up to full power. Clarus kept his word and let them go after ensuring they were on and working correctly.

He finished his report back in his office and then sealed it after sharing it with Regis. This was to be classified information on a need to know basis. The Kingsglaive in the room on that day were instructed to keep everything quiet unless Cor, Clarus, or the King gave them orders otherwise.

****

"They never revealed what they saw that day and eventually Lilliana earned their respect and trust." It was a long process but saving the Prince's life goes a long way in Clarus's mind. "It was sealed until you opened it for this investigation. If you need anything else, I'll be in my office."

**Author's Note:**

> Ask me Questions! There may be answers!
> 
> If nothing else ask because I love talking about these babies.


End file.
